This invention relates to photographic still cameras and photofinishing systems for providing audio recording and playback in association with individual still photographic prints, and more particularly to recording variable amounts of data in accordance with the expected characteristics of the print of the image being photographed.
Cameras and systems for providing audio recording and playback in association with individual photographic still prints are known in the art. An example of such a system is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,472 to Bell et al., which describes a still photographic system with audio recording capability. Audio to be recorded in association with individual exposed frames is digitized and stored in a temporary memory in the camera. When the film is advanced to the next exposure frame, the stored digital audio signal is recorded on a magnetic layer on the film. At the photofinisher, the digital audio signal is read from the film and converted to a suitable format, such as a bar code or binary coded blister marks, which are impressed on the photoprint for subsequent playback.
Examples of such systems are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,225 to Bernardi et al. describes a system in which messages are stored in camera on-board memory or in detachable message memory modules or cards to be forwarded with an exposed film strip to a photofinisher for read out and printing on the prints. In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,700 to Inoue et al., the sound data is recorded in a first memory (e.g., a sound card) and data indicating correspondence between photographed frames of a film and the sound data is recorded in a second memory (e.g., a film).
Not all sound files or data files are the same size when printed as an invisible encodement. The area taken up by the encodement varies with the amount of data and the storage density, which in turn is a function of the resolving power of the printing and detection equipment used. Digital sound files that are moderately compressed and of more than one or two seconds in duration, represent relatively large printed encodements. While there is no space problem if an encodement is small relative to a related printed visible image, large encodements are problematic because, for a given encodement format, the encodement may not fit on the face of a related printed visible image.
There are many storage methods available for adding supplemental data to images, such as by using two-dimensional barcode printing on a print to record digital information. This method provides a limited area for the encodement. Accordingly, it is required that sound/data recorded has a limited size. If the sound files are too large when they are being added to the images, they must be edited before being added to the image. This procedure is cumbersome and requires a complex operator interface. Therefore for simplicity, there exists a need for limiting the size of a sound file at the recording stage.
In a camera, this file size can be set by shutting off the recording function after a given length of time. Therefore there is a need to limit the amount of recording time to coincide with the expected output print characteristics.
The area available for the encodement varies with the two-dimensional area of the print. Some camera formats, such as APS, provide for pre-selection of output print shape (height to width ratio). See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,265 to Shibata et al.
It is known to restrict the allotted recording time, such as disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,292 to Bell et al. or to provide the operator with a variable amount of recording time as in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,501 to Bell. It is also known to display the amount of time remaining within which to record such as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,473 to Sakai et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,955 to Satoh et al,
However it is not known to determine the amount of recording time available based upon the pre-selection of individual frame output print characteristics. All of the prior art sound recording limits are either arbitrarily set to a fixed amount of time, or are determined by storage limits which do not depend upon individual frame expected output print characteristics.
Given that there is a limited two dimensional area available on a print to record a sound file, it is required that any file to be recorded have a limited size. In a camera, this file size can be set by shutting off the recording function after a given length of time. This invention sets the limit for recording time based on operator-selected inputs on the camera. These inputs may include sound quality desired, type of sound to be recorded, and expected print shape and size. These operator-selected characteristics all influence the amount of recording time available. For example, the type of sound to be recorded, such as music, ambient sounds, or annotation, influences the preferred digital compression algorithm to be implemented at the photofinisher. The sound quality desired dictates the amount of allowable compression. The print format (such as for APS) or expected final print size provides the final image area that can be recorded upon in an over-the-image (or back-of-the-print) recording application.
The invention, and its objects and advantages, will become more apparent in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments presented below.